At the Mercy of the Merciless was written on the road and deals with themes of personal damage and systemic rot. How did writing while touring influence the intensity and focus of the songs?
Alot of the songs were written and played live in the set for months if not a year or two before recording. This gave us the time to let the songs breathe and kind of become a more finished product on their own. Rehearsing and recording are very different from pulling it off live, especially for us cause we like to run around on stage and have a good time. Having the songs dialed in a live setting gave them their own intensity, and kind of defined each song a bit more to have their own identity. Writing on the road just forces the entire band to bring their best to the table.

The title track shifts from personal vices to societal collapse, tackling algorithmic isolation and inequality. How do you balance political critique with the energy and immediacy of your music?
Most of us have a bit of a punk rock background so political critique is in our musical DNA. From Mozart to hippies to hip hop, music has always been a critique of established and systemic injustices. It just comes naturally for us, and its like shooting fish in a barrel when both sides of our government are abusive war mongering bastards. Fast, angry straight forward music is a great medium for screaming about how much you hate something; and we HATE hate. Which is what we are fed daily by the 1%.

Tracks like “Old Drugs” and “Eater of Ghosts” explore addiction and personal loss of control. How do you approach writing lyrics that are both empathetic and brutal?
I think this also kind of ties into our musical backgrounds a bit. I had hippy parents that taught us some pretty logical values. Humans deserve empathy; you dont know someone’s story or reasons for their actions, understanding is key; avoiding problems only makes them worse. We’ve all experienced so much loss specifically from addiction. Speaking from those experiences can be very visceral and brutal, so we dont sugar coat it. Life is brutal, but losing your empathy is worse than death. Youre a monster at that point

“George Washington’s Teeth” uses historical events to comment on myth-making and social injustice. How do you choose historical or political topics for your songs?
There’s so much to pick from when you start digging into the past. And sadly, many of those past atrocities are either still present if not amplified over time. Society seems to be on a loop, making the same mistakes on a cycle that winds closer each time we repeat the mistakes. 100 year cycle to 20 year cycle. Take a look around with an open heart and mind and you’ll find plenty to scream about.

Across the EP, there’s a recurring tension between cathartic riffs and confrontational messages. Is that duality intentional from the start, or does it emerge naturally during songwriting?
Most of the music just kind of flows out without alot of effort initially, then we refine it bit by bit. Once the music is there, ill go back listening to a practice tape and putting words together pretty quickly. The ideas stem from the riffs as far as what direction the lyrics will go. Typically angry stuff; screaming about how fucked we think the world is blah blah blah, but the aggressive nature of the riffs lend themselves to that angry voice perfectly. We never really thought about any duality between cathartic riffage and confrontational messages, but if the riffs pulls you in then you’re more likely to pay attention to any underlying message.

The EP blends death metal, crust punk, D-beat, and slam influences. How do you maintain cohesion while pulling from so many extreme subgenres?
I guess having decades of playing in other bands under our belts we just kind of throw everything into a blender unintentionally. Its a bit subconsciously like, “what would i want to hear a band do” and a little splash of “whats fun to play” with no regard for the listener. I suppose it’s just the combination of influences over a life of loving heavy music.

Minimal studio trickery and live-style recording give the EP a raw, human feel. How important is capturing that live energy in your studio recordings?
Its pretty big for us to want any fan or even casual listener to FEEL something. Dont care if its abject hatred for us lol, we just want the energy of the recording to illicit some form of emotional response in people. For us as people and as musicians, the reality of a live show is the most important part of being in a band; and we want that sense of urgency, community/belonging, and raw energy to pour out of the speakers. And hey, its honest playing and musicianship; nothing polished or stressed over to be more perfect than we are capable of as human beings.

“Grinding the System” includes melodic dual guitar solos over a D-beat foundation. How do you decide when to add melody versus sticking to pure aggression?
Gut feeling. And dual leads are just SICK, a part of our heavy metal DNA. Honestly there isnt a ton of thoughtfulness in the decision making for that type of stuff. It really is a reaction; like ok we just wailed on some gnarly angry shit my fingers wanna do some judas priest licks now so lets do that! It’s an in born balance between gnarly and beauty.

Songs like “D.E.A.D.” were designed with side A/side B flow in mind. How much thought goes into the EP’s sequencing and pacing?
That is one of the few things we DO consciously think about haha. Once we have the songs together its super important to keep a flow that maximizes energy output. No dull moments if the sequence is right. I definitely listened to them in other orders before deciding which order gave me the right feeling. We wanted the ep to have a very clear beginning, middle, and end…..albeit with energy maintained throughout so when it’s over you may not have seen it coming, and you’ll certainly want more.

With riffs that are filthy, fast, and intricate, what’s your process for writing music that’s both physically intense for live performance and musically tight?
Typically I’ll come up with the bulk of a songs structure by just riffing around on whatever sounds badass, then throw it on Reaper with some pre-made drum loops of different Blasts beats and double bass parts etcetc. Once I flesh out a skeleton like that it goes to Alex and he figures out what works for him as a drummer off the tracks I send. We meet in the rehearsal spot and blast them out. There’s usually a few minor changes here and there; riff tags, turnaround or transitions might be tidied up etc. Then I write too many lyrics and punish myself trying to scream and riff at the same time haha.

ANTI-SAPIEN evolved from a pandemic project into a touring, politically charged band. How did that transition shape your creative vision for this EP?
The band always has been Vocally political, even though it was started more as a side project for fun. The fact that people gravitate towards the music and given us the opportunity to tour is amazing. Im not sure it changed anything for us, but rather just reinforced our position politically. Realizing there are more people at death metal shows with an open mind nowadays is awesome. The growth of the band has led us to see this EP as a stepping stone forward from “goofy crusty death metal band” to hopefully a band people will immediately associate with a sick live show and a strong stance and a realistic message…but still soaked in gore and barf.

Humor and grotesque imagery appear throughout the songs. How do you use satire and dark comedy to convey serious themes without undermining the message?
Humor has always been a subtle way of normalizing things for mass consumption. This can be used negatively as well as positively. Making fucked up jokes can normalize misogyny, racism, sexism, homophobia …..the list is endless. It can also normalize emotions people haven’t considered in regards to specific situations they fear or are unfamiliar with; helping them have more empathy and understanding for a problem or “main character”. I think people forget the origins of “comedy” and “humour” are very dark and more about a cathartic process than making an audience laugh. There’s usually a very important message being conveyed but through humor to disarm the viewer/listener and help them empathize with the subject matter. Also; “souris quand meme” or “laugh anyways” because time will keep passing regardless of how you feel, and in the futility of that moment sometimes all you can do is have laugh.

You’ve toured extensively in the US and abroad. How does performing live influence the way you write and arrange songs?
It doesn’t influence it enough haha. I still as a front person seem to write arrangements and vocal parts together that are a pain in the ass to pull off! Its slowly helping me pull back from waning to write an entire book for each songs lyrics. Sometimes it helps us identify which riff in a new song is the KEEPER MOMENT. Then we figure out how to play that riff again in the song, or maybe make that part twice as long so the riff can breathe.

The band is proud to be openly anti-fascist and politically engaged. How does that ideology inform both the lyrics and your approach to community at shows?
Lyrically we are very up front about that stuff, always have been as a human personally. We are all anti fascist by default. Thats how every human being is born. If you say “well I’m not an anti fascist” then you’re implying that you are in fact a fascist yourself. Its very fucking simple and one of the few issues in life that is VERY black and white. There’s a right and wrong answer. Humans are anti fascist by nature; if you arent anti fascist you are telling the world youre a fascist. It seems very hard for people to accept that 2+2 will always equal 4 no matter what you want to believe in. We try to have an atmosphere of inclusion at shows; all are welcome. We dont gate keep people; if they come vibe and they SUCK? Educate them, help them change, or show them the door.

Looking at the EP as a whole, what emotional and intellectual experience do you hope listeners take away once the feedback fades after a show?
That we are all humans, we likely all want the same things out of life so lets stop letting THEM win by dividing us so easily. Just because you dont understand it doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense. There are right and wrong answers when it comes to humanity and none of them involve teams, sides, red or blue, none of that shit matters. We all just want a roof overhead and food on the table, so smile on your brother and try to love one another while we wake up and violently stop the monsters destroying our planet together!